The personal blog of Pastor Matt Powell of Casper WY

Nibbling on the Hook

Sin always starts out looking like something different than what it is. Sin is always based on lies. It starts out as something just a little bit “naughty”, a little bit daring and attractive. It’s crossing the line a little, but it’s not really “bad”. That’s how it looks. So we think we can indulge a little bit, just to edge out a little from God’s law, just sin a little bit. We’re like fish seeing a worm and saying, we’ll just take a little nibble.

But there’s a hook. There’s something concealed in sin. Jesus said, He who sins is the slave of sin. The slavery is in this lie, this deception about the real nature of sin. Surely David never thought that his little flirting with Bathsheba, just a little look at a bathing woman across the street, would end where it did, with murder, rebellion and the ruin of his kingdom. Surely Esau never thought his little joke would end with the loss of the covenant blessings and alienation from his brother and parents. Surely Eve was just exploring forbidden knowledge a little bit. She never expected it to end with the ruin of the whole human race. And Judas skimming a little bit of money from the offering plate ended with the murder of the Son of God.

It’s always like this. Every little sin has the potential to ruin your whole soul. Only the grace of God prevents this. Every little sin is a lie, that we can take God’s blessings for ourselves without reference to God’s truth. Once I believe that lie there is no end to the destruction I can do to myself and those around me. Every little nibble at that juicy worm has the potential for me cooking in the fisherman’s frying pan.

How hopeless our condition is. How truly dependent on grace we are, for every breath that we take. How reliant on Christ we must be, for forgiveness and deliverance from this lie. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”